Insect-destroyer.



PATENTED MAY 3, 1904.

H. BBASLEY & G. HUBER.

INSECT DESTROYER. APPLICATION FILED D36. 4. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

Witnesses a a 217M UNITED STATES Patented May 3, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

lNSECT-DESTROYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,891, dated May 3,1904.

Application filed December 4,1903. Serial No. 183,756. (No model.)

To all ZU/LOII'L it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY BEASLEY and (JrAUT'rLEB HUBER, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Dot, in the county of Falls and State ofTexas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inInsect-Destroyers; and wedo hereby declare the following to bea full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilledin the art to which it apperta'ins to make and use thesame.

()u r invention relates to machines for catchingand destroying harmfulinsects; and it consists of certain novel features of combination andconstruction of parts, the preferred form whereof will be hereinafterclearly set forth.

The prime object of our invention is to provide suitable mechanismwhereby harmful insects may be taken from growing plants, as cotton,corn, or the like, without injury to the plant, but with absolutecertainty of destruction to the insects feeding thereon.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter made clearly apparent,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a partof this application, and in which Figure 1 shows a perspective view ofour invention complete as applied upon an ordinary cultivator. Fig. 2shows a top plan view of our invention complete separated from the otherparts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of Fig. 2 on line3 3 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 4: is aperspective view showing preferred means of attaching our invention tothe cultivator or plow frame.

For-convenience of reference numerals will be employed. the same numeralapplying to a similar part throughout the several views, and, referringto the numerals on the drawings, 1 indicates the carrying-wheel, while 2designates the frame and 3 the draft-tongue of an ordinary cultivator,to which the plows or shovels 4 are attached in the usual manner.

To the cultivator-frame 2 we connect in any preferred way the cross-bar5, having the lougitudinal slots 6 formed therein to receive the lingers7 upon the standards 8, said standards having at their lower endsrearwardly-turned extensions or brackets 9 and 10, each having an.aperture registering with the other to receive and permit the freeupward and downward play of the shaft 11, the lower end of which issecured to the rear end 12 of the trough-like members 13 and 1a.

The trough-sections l3 and l t are provided with a sheet-iron or otherform of metallic bottom, as indicated by the numeral 15, the forwardends of each trough-section being curved upward, whereby they will morereadily pass.

over uneven surfaces or obstructing roots, snags, or the like that maybe in the field. The inner sides of each trough-section are curvedoutward at their forward ends, as indicated by the numeral 16, wherebythe open space thus provided will more readily receive and per: mit thefree passage of the growing plants between the trough-sections, and inorder that the destroying insect-s, worms, or the like upon the growingplants maybe dislodged therefrom and shaken into one or the other of theadjacent trough-sections we provide the rotating agitators 17 and 18,each being vertically disposed and each provided with a suitable journalat each end whereby they may be rotatably mounted in position, as by thelower journal entering the cross-bar 19, carried by each trough-section,while the upper journals enter apertures in the brackets 20.

Each of the agitators is provided with a plurality of lingers 21 ofproper length to permit the free rotation of each of the agitators orrollers, such rotation being induced by the force of the fingers comingin contact with the growing plant, and it therefore follows that thevarious parts of the plant will be touched or agitated sutliciently todislodge harmful insects feeding thereon, from whence they will fallinto one of the trough-sections 13 or 1%.

By reference to Fig. 3 it will be observed that the metallic bottomsection 15 is properly shaped to form the inner edges and sections 15.have secured the floor-section 22, made of meshed wire, said meshed wirebeing located slightly above the bottom of the trough, and as saidtrough-section is made with non-leaking joints we are enabled to partlyfill the In Fig. 3 it will also be observed that we 9 meshed-Wiresection 22 is to arrest the down ward course of the leaves, blades, andother objects which it is desirable shall not enter the oil-receptacle.

The agitators or rollers 18 being of light construction will readilyrotate upon the slightest application of force to the fingers 21, as bythe growing plants passing betweenthe trough-sections, the rear ends ofthe troughsections being yieldingly secured together, as by means of thecoiled spring 23, each end of which is provided with a hook-terminal 24,adapted to hook into an aperture provided in the standards 8.

It will be understood that the tension of the spring 23 is of sufficientforce to permit the trough-sections to yieldingly move away from thegrowing plants without injuring the same, each of the trough-sectionsbeing provided with the vertically-disposed rod 11 upon its rear end 12,and as said rod passes loosely through the apertures in the brackets 9and 10 it follows that said trough-sections will be forced over theground and at the same time will be permitted to accommodate themselvesto the uneven surface of the soil inasmuch as said rod 11 will playfreely upward and downward in the brackets 9 and 10.

The forward end of each trough-section is provided with theupwardly-extending arm or bracket 25, adapted to be connected to acontiguous part of the doubletree 26, as by the link-sections 27, itbeing understood that in some instances a chain or a jointed rod may beemployed in order that the forward ends of the trough-sections may morereadily conform to the varying surface of the ground.

By the construction and arrangement of parts herein described andillustrated in the accompanying drawings it will be seen that we haveprovided simple though reliably efiiand destroying insects, comprising apair of trough-like receptacles 13 and 14 each having a bottom sectionproper l5 and a false bottom 22 of meshed wire, said receptacles beingadapted to contain a destructive agent as oil or the like; agitatingdevices 17 and 18 carried by each trough-section and having fingers todislodge from the plants passing between them insects or the like; meansto yieldingly hold the trough-sections together and additional means tooperatively connect said members to a cultivator or the like wherebywhen the receptacles are drawn over the ground the same will be passedupon either side of a row of growing plants and thereby gather from saidplants all harmful insects, &c., whereby they will be destroyed byfalling into said oil, all combined substantially as specified and forthe purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses hi HENRY X BEASLEY.

mar

hi GAUTTLEB HUBER.

Witnesses:

D. R. BIRKEs, JOHN MEYER.

